The Last Goodbye
by glitzeybee
Summary: Clintasha, two-part. Before Clint Barton died, he wrote letters. One for Natasha and one for Tony. This is what they said.
1. Goodye, Natasha

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Avengers. Not at all. Not even a little bit.

On May 13th, an letter was delivered to the Avengers Tower by Nick Fury. This letter contained the official details of Clint Barton's death.

On May 14th, two red letters appeared, seemingly from nowhere. One on Natasha's bed and one in Tony's workshop.

As soon as Natasha saw it, she knew what it was. She and Clint had made this promise a few years ago, they wrote letters to each other, just in case. She didn't know what to do with hers now. Maybe burn it. She looked at the red envelope, not moving. She picked it up and opened it with shaking hands. Unfolding the smooth paper, she saw Clint's untidy handwriting, and almost lost it then and there; But she regained control, and started reading.

_Dear Natasha,_

_I really, really hope you're not reading this. And if you are, I hope it's because you got curious and wanted to see what I wrote. But I know that's very unlikely. So the first thing I want you to know is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm gone, and I'm sorry I'm not there to make you feel better, or kick Stark's ass for saying something stupid (Though god knows you could do that yourself) but most of all, I'm sorry that I have to say goodbye using a letter. The only way to say goodbye in person would be if you were with me, and if you were with me, you would probably be dead as well, and I don't like thinking about that. But we both knew it was coming. It's part of the job description. We're not supposed to have anyone who cares if we die. But I did. I had you. I still have you. _

_Now, I know that you've been crying for me, Natasha. And I know that you will for a long time. But stop it. Don't waste your emotions on me, Romanoff. Don't shut down, either. You stay on track, and keep living your life. I'm watching you, and if you start shutting down like that chick in the vampire movie you made me watch, then we're gonna have a serious talk when you get up here with me in 80 years or so. I want to come back, Tasha. and believe me, if there's a way, I'll find it. _

She was crying now, her tears hitting the smooth paper and leaving small dents in the page.

_About my apartment and stuff, I left it all to you. In case you need it some day. Natasha, you know I loved you, and I still do. It doesn't matter that I'm dead. I still love you. Nothing is ever going to change that. And I know that you loved me. But you have to try and move on, okay? And if you can't do it for you, do it for me._

_I'm sorry my writing is so untidy; I would try to write neater, but that's near enough impossible, so I won't. I bet your letter is much neater. Put your letter in my coffin, will you? I want to have a little piece of you with me, so maybe I won't be so lonely. _

_Natasha, if this is the last goodbye, then know that I love you more than the world, and I always will.  
Goodbye, _

_Clint  
xxxx_

Natasha looked up; She was somehow kneeling by the bed, a hand pressed over her mouth, tears streaming silently down her face. She stood up, folded the letter and stowed it in one of the drawers. She wiped her tears away, and went to join the rest of the team. She had to keep it together. If not for her, then for him.

**A/N: **So... I know, it's an idea that's been done many times, I just wanted to have a go. Parts 2 and 3 coming soon!


	2. I'm Trusting You, Stark

Disclaimer: Nope, Avengers, not mine.

Tony was on his way to his workshop. Natasha had already gone back to her room, the rest of the team were still congregated in the main room, discussing plans for Barton's funeral.

Tony was never good at dealing with loss.

He stepped into the workshop, snapping his fingers a few times to wake up the sleeping robots. He sat down at his usually clean desk, and was surprised to see a red envelope sitting near one of his computers. His brow creased. How did that even get there? People don't go in his workshop, that was a rule. He opened it, and unfolded the paper.

_Stark._

_I am writing this, seemingly from the afterlife. No, I wrote this before I left on that stupid mission, because I knew I probably wasn't gonna make it back this time. Now I need you to do something for me. And it's important, okay?_

Tony snorted. What could a dead guy want him to do?

_Okay, here's number one. Try not to say anything stupid in front of Nat, okay? Because believe me, she's not as strong as she'll have you believe. It won't take more than one stupid comment from you and she'll be a mess on the floor. Got it? Good._

Tony rolled his eyes. This was pretty well thought out. He made a mental note to be careful what he says, and who he says it to. He wasn't completely unfeeling.

_Now, this is probably the most important of all. She has nightmares. Bad ones. And I know you know because she screams pretty damn loud. Usually, I'm there to deal with it, but if you're reading this then that means I'm not around anymore. So you're gonna have to do it. You hear her screaming, or crying, then you go and you help her. You hear me? You don't let her be, because she won't sort herself out. That won't happen. You need to go into her room, and wake her up. You know what, bring Pepper. Have Pepper tell her that she's okay, that's she's in the Tower and that no one is going to hurt her. And for god's sake, Stark, don't make fun of her. Be nice. 'Cause god knows she doesn't deserve these things._

_If you wake her up and she pulls a gun, she probably won't shoot once she knows it's you. Probably._

Tony groaned. He'd have to ask Pepper to do this, Romanoff could barely stand to be in the same room as him, let alone sit up talking about nightmares.

_Now this is going to make me sound like a parent sending his kid off to camp. But you gotta look after her, okay? Make sure she sleeps properly, because she will try and make a it a week on two hours of sleep. Make sure she eats properly, and don't let her shut herself away. Make sure she goes outside, and talks to people. I'm trusting you on this, Stark. Consider this my dying wish._

_See you in the afterlife,_

_Clint Barton._

Tony sat back in his chair. He had no idea why Barton was trusting him to look after Natasha. But he sounded pretty damn serious in that letter. He rubbed his forehead; He'd talk to Pepper about this later. Barton wasn't asking much, right? He just wants someone to make sure Romanoff doesn't fall apart. Personally, he couldn't see that happening. But then he remembered what Clint had written about her not being as strong as she seemed, and thought that he may have to re-evaluate this situation.

This wouldn't be hard. He would get the rest of the team to help.

They'd all get through this together.

A/N: The final part! Oooh! I hope you guys enjoyed it. And I hope you didn't cry too much. I cried when I was writing it! Reviews are much appreciated.


	3. Clint Barton, I Love You

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers.

A/N: Yeah, I originally wasn't gonna write this, but I got a few requests on tumblr for Natasha's letter to Clint. So this is just a short one for you guys!

_Dear Clint,_

_Okay. I guess if you're reading this, then I'm dead. If I am, then it's a good thing I wrote this letter. Did I die bravely? On the field? Or was it of old age? I hope it was, Clint. I hope I grew old with you and we had kids and grandkids and a dog. I hope we had a long life together, and we got married properly, with a real ceremony and everything, and that I died peacefully in a hospital, and I got to say goodbye properly.  
But I know that that probably didn't happen. So I'm going to have to write my goodbyes here, with a pen and paper, and it's going to be hard but I'm going to do it so that if I die, then I will have a chance to say goodbye. So here. _

_Clint, you saved my life. Really, you were sent to kill me, but you didn't. Instead you asked me to come back with you, work for the good team. I remember when we first got back, when I tried to kill at least three people and you had to try and calm me down. And you did. And that's when I knew, right there, that I could trust you. Then we started going on missions together, and you found out I had nightmares and I found out that you did too. And we slowly started to fix each other. _

_Then, and don't ask me how it happened, we started to fall in love. I know, two assassins, trained their whole lives to stay away from emotions, to shut them down before they can develop, falling in love! You stayed with me every time I had to go to hospital, partly so I didn't kill anyone, but mainly because you knew how I hated it. You knew how to calm me down, and you knew how I liked my tea. And I knew that you never wore matching socks, no matter how hard you tried, and that when you had nightmares, your best place to go was the roof. And you knew that when I had nightmares, my best place to go was anywhere with you. _

_And then we were thrown into a world of monsters and magic and other people like us, with a smaller kill list. And we made friends, and these friends became family. You went out drinking with Tony and Steve, and I went shopping with Pepper and Jane, and when we went downstairs in the middle of the night because the nightmares just don't stop, the chances were that someone was already there. So we had a small, dysfunctional family._

_Like I said, I really hope we grew old together, Clint. I hope you're reading this on a porch somewhere, with grey hair and a walking stick. And then when you've finished reading it, you'll put it next to the picture that was took on our wedding day (Did we get married? I hope we did. I know you were going to propose about a week after I'm writing this. So I hope I don't die before then) _

_Now, if I did die on the field, then it was probably with you. And I swear, Clinton, if you blame yourself for any of this, then I'm going to haunt you until you get up here with me, you hear me? Okay. Well, I'm about to leave for a mission with you, so I hope you don't have to read this anytime soon. Just know how much I love you, okay? _

_Thank you for fixing me  
I love you more than anything,_

_Natasha  
xxxxx_

A/N: Was that okay? I hope it was... reviews are always appreciated!


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